Apparatus for separating particles of rubber from materials with which they are commingled.



W. s. BLAINE.

-APPARA'IUS FOR SEPARATING PARTICLES 0F RUBBER FROM MATERIALS WITH WHICH THEY ARE GOMMINGLBD.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 1, 1910.

Patented July 16, 1912.

wane/woo UNITED! STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SULLIVAN BLAINE, OFTORREON, MEXICO ASSIGNOB T INTERGONTI- NENTAL RUBBER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, 11'. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.-

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING PARTICLES OF RUBBER FROM MATERIALS WITH WI HIGH THEY ARE QOMMING-LED.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM SULLIVAN BLAINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Torreon, Republic of Mexico, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Separating Particles of Rubber from Materials with Wh'ch I They Are Commingled; and I do hereb declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in apparatus for the separation of particles of rubber from materials with which they are commingled. I

Among other uses, the invention is of particular importance in the recovery by flotation, of the particles of rubberime chanically associated with the bark' and woody matter of the guayule shrub and like rubber-bearing shrubs and plants which have been subjected to attrition, in the presence of water, in the wel known pebble mill, familiar to the art. I 1

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1' represents a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus, (suitable for the practice of the improved -method) the -flotation tank thereof being shown as .partly broken away; Fig. .2 represents a top plan view'thereof; and Figs. 3 and 4 represent, respectively,

cross sectional views, taken on planes indicated by the dotted lines 3--3, and 44, Fig; 3 being on a somewhat larger scale Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing, it will be noted that the apparatus shown consists of three by means of a slowly moving conveyer,

which may conveniently take the form of a screw conveyor a, located in a well b, midway Specification of Letters Patent; Application filed November 1, 1910. Serial No. 590,149.

Patented July 16, 1912.

ofthe bottom of the tank and between the inclined bottom walls thereof. So, also, it is preferred to progressively draw off the floats consist1ng mainly of the separated rubber particles, thesefloats finding their exit byway of the overflow c, to a suitable place of collection. The simultaneous and progressive withdrawal of both the sinkers.

and floats permits'the flotation tank to be operated with a correspondingly high output per unit of time. Particularly, more over, the rogressive withdrawal of the sinkers is e ected without interfering in any substantial way with the separating action of the flotation tank; or, in other words, without causing the reentrance into the sinkers of any of the particles of rubber that have been released and are on their way upward in the intermediate water zone between the sinkers and the floats. To this end, I provide for preventing any such reentrance of released rubber particles into the sinkers, by establishing a countervailing or compensating back-pressure, tobalance the head of water in the flotation tank, and thereby suppress any tendency to the formation of a downward current of water" from the flotation tank during the withdrawal of the sinkers. This back-pressure may be ob-- tamed in any convenient way, but preferably by the. expedient of having the outgoing body of sinkers discharge into the auxiliary tank C, containing a bodyof water which will balancethe head of the body of water in the flotation tank. The rate of revolution of the screw conveyor a is slow, an results in the gradual advance of the sinkers. and their progressive discharge into the auxiliary tank. In the auxiliary tank, it

is desirable to avoid any such amount of agitation or eddying as would tend to exert a suction action upon the charge inthe flotation tank. Accordingly, for theremovalof the sinkers as they are discharged into the auxiliary tank, there are employed elevating devices which likewise move slowly.

These elevating devices, moreover, have a sieving function, in the sense that they drain the sinkers as they rise from the tank and permit the drippings to fall-back into'the main body of water therein. A chain elevator 6, having perforated buckets d, is par- '10s ticularly appropriate for the purpose, for

wood, bark, and rubber,

' and so that they the reason that not only are the drippings from the perforations of the buckets returned to the tank, but also those which are decanted from the top of the bucket charge as the individual buckets begin to tilt as they rise to the point of ultimate discharge of the drained sinkers. or entrapping, on top of the bucket charges, of the small layer of water thus decanted, is due to the fact that the individual'particles of the sinkers are small, and that some of them are so fine that they settle upon and within the coarserparticles, as the buckets begin to drain, so that the mass becomes correspondingly less permeable, to the extent of preventing the down filtration of the small top layers of water referred to. return of the drippings from the perforations of the buckets and fromt e top of the bucket charges maintains practically constant the body of water in the tank C.

, In practice, it is preferred to supply the commingled mass of water, and particles of from the pebble mill, to a flow-box D, wherein, if desired, the mass may be further diluted with an additional supply of water, so as to find ready exit through the discharge apertures f of the flow-box. From the discharge apertures of theflow-box, the material is supplied to the bottom of the concentrator B, in'such manner as to be distributed with substantial uniformity over the entire width of the concentrator bottom. The concentrator bottom is provided witha seriesof longitudinal pro-- jections n which may conveniently be 'of a height of about three-quarters of an inch at the flow-box end of the concentrator and which preferably taper of the concentrator bottom so that as the particles advance toward the flotation tank, their distribution over the surface of the concentrator bottom will be maintained, will. readily pass ofl from the yerge or edge of the concentrator bottom without tendency to mass up or accumulate along said edge.

The concentrator bottom or table is appropriately mounted upon suitable oscillatory links or supports 9 and is connected, by a sheet of rubber h,- forming a bellows fold, with the flotation tank A, so as to be capable of. a limited. longitudinal reciprocation. The desired reciprocation is of such water, 6.5

a character that the concentrator bottom or table will be accelerated-toward the end of the forward stroke, so that a corresponding series of minute impulses (usually about 250 per minute, more or less) will be imparted to the material, causing it to move forward toward the flotation tank. In this movement the material advances under a covering of about from three to five inches of the water level being established by water level existing in the flotation tank.

The accumulation The 'venient source of power.

to the discharge end The resultant effect is that there is produced a corresponding turning over of the particles of the mixture as they advance, thereby permitting them to release, to some de gree, the lighter particles, and to obtain a certain amount of stratification in the mass by the time that it passes into the deeper body of water in the flotation tank. In passing over the verge of the concentrator bottom or table into the deeper body-of water in the flotation "tank, the mass hasa relatively considerable drop and, in its descent through this deeper body of water, additional particles of rubber are released to join thedfloats on the surface of the water therein. I g

-Suitable means for obtaining the desired acceleration of the forward stroke of the 're-. ciprocating concentrator bottom. or table are illustrated in the drawing. These means may. consist of a rod m adaptedto move back and forth in bearings r and connected at its forward end to the lower part of the table at 8, said rod m being enveloped by the spring t, which reacts between 8 and one of the bearings r. A toggle joint, one of whose lever arms 2' is fulcrumed .to a support on the frame E and whose-other lever arm j is fulcrumed on the rod m, is provided at the point of juncture of the two.

arms, with a vertical arm 70, screw-threaded at its upper end and passing through a pivoted rock bar Z, whose free end rests upon the continuously revolving cam 11 on the power shaft w, which power shaft may be run by a belt m'and pulley y from any con- I The arm is provided with an adjusting nut is so as to determine the length of stroke of the rod m and consequently the rate of advance of the material on the concentrator bottom or table. It .will, of course, be understood that the mechanism gives a corresponding retardation of movement on the return stroke of each reciprocation, thereby correspondingly increasing the effect.

What I claim is 1. Apparatus for separating particles of rubber from materials'with which they are commingled, said apparatus comprising a flotation tank, a concentrating table communicating with said tank at one endthereof, and an overflow for the flotation tank, so arranged as to maintain a shallow covering of water upon the concentration table substantially as described. A

2. Apparatus for separating particles of rubber from materials with which they are commingled, said apparatus comprising a flotation tank'and a conveyor located in the bottom of said tank, in combination with an auxiliary tank into which said conveyor discharges, said auxiliary tank being arranged. at a level to exerta compensating back pressure upon the charge of the flotation tank, and means for removing the sinkfor the flotation tank, so arranged as to ers from said auxiliary tank without exertmaintain a shallow covering of water upon ingv a substantial suction action on the flotathe concentration table; substantially as de 7 tion tank, substantially as described. scribed. 5 3. Apparatus for separating particles of 5. Apparatus for separating particles of rubber from materials with which they are rubber from materialswith which they are commingled, said apparatus comprising a coininingled, said apparatus comprising a otat-ion tank and a conveyer located in the flotation tank, a concentrating table combottom of said tank, in combination with an municating with said tank at one end there- 10 auxiliary tank into which said conveyer disof, said concentrating table being provided charges, said auxiliary tank being arranged with a series of longitudinal partitions and at a level to exert a compensating back preshaving a supply box at one end thereof, and sure upon the charge of the flotation tank, an overflow for the flotation tank, so arsaid auxiliary tank being further provided ranged as to maintain a shallow covering 1 5 with a series of sieving elevator buckets; of water upon the concentration table; subsubstantially as described. stantially as described.

4. Apparatus for separating particles of In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature,

rubber from materials with which they are in presence of two witnesses.

commin'gled said apparatus comprising a 20 flotation tank, a concentrating table com WILLIAM SULLIVAN BLAINE municating w th said tank at one end there- Witnesses: of, and of a width substantially equal to the G. A. GUERRA,

' width of the flotation tank, and an overflow N. Anoos. 

